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Mandarin Chinese Tones
Tone Modifiers
Section titled “Tone Modifiers”Use one consistent image per tone:
- Tone 1 (high, flat:
ā, shape¯) - Tone 2 (rising:
á, shape´) - Tone 3 (dip then rise:
ǎ, shapeˇ) - Tone 4 (sharp falling:
à, shape`) - Neutral tone (no mark:
a)
Pick images you can instantly visualize and keep them consistent across all scenes.
Integration Rule
Section titled “Integration Rule”Tone encoding happens at the same time as character encoding.
Do not separate “pinyin first, characters later.”
Attach pinyin + tone to the radical-based word locus in one pass.
Directional Tone Encoding (PA Style)
Section titled “Directional Tone Encoding (PA Style)”The thread’s PA-style approach encodes tone with motion direction.
- confirmed example: 4th tone uses a downward action
- recommendation: define the other tones with equally consistent motion patterns and never change them mid-system
Pinyin Examples
Section titled “Pinyin Examples”- Tone 1:
mā,shī,tiān - Tone 2:
má,xué,péng - Tone 3:
mǎ,wǒ,hǎo - Tone 4:
mà,shì,zài - Neutral:
ma,de,ne
Integrating Tones Into Scenes
Section titled “Integrating Tones Into Scenes”For every word scene:
- Add pronunciation cue.
- Add tone marker.
- Make both cues interact with the meaning image.
If scenes become cluttered, simplify the action and exaggerate only one detail.